Thursday 26 January 2012

Little Yellow Brick Pick #6 - 10223 Kingdoms Joust

Another series for our Little Yellow Brick collection!

10223 Kingdoms Joust
Everyone gather for the joust!


9 minifigs!

Released over the Christmas period in the US, we grabbed a set from Toy Station two weeks back!

Yes, we did say last year that we made the difficult decision not to start a new series, but as the saying goes, never say never, right? :)

This beautiful set comes with 9 minifigs and two horses. We are looking forward to building it up and sharing our experience in a new post. So stay tuned!

Related posts:
Goodbye to our Medieval Market Village #10193...
Little Yellow Brick Special #1: Change of Heart!
It's March!
It's April!
Our 12th Lego project - 10193 Medieval Market Village
It's June!
July 2012!!!
October 2012!

Saturday 21 January 2012

Our 11th Lego project - 10182 Cafe Corner

  • Model: 10182 Cafe Corner
  • 2056 Pieces
  • Released in 2007
  • Retail price: $249.99 USD
10182 Cafe Corner
Here it is!

It has been a long time, hasn't it? We received this secondhand set by post in October 2011; over 20 entries and three built Lego Winter Village sets later, we are proud to present to you our 11th Lego project - 10182 Cafe Corner!

The 10182 Cafe Corner is the first set of Lego's Modular Buildings series. An artistic palette of yellow, beige, white, brown, red and grey, this set exudes grandeur of a hotel with a cafe on the first floor. Not surprisingly, the pavement is fully tiled. The first floor boasts two umbrellas with seats on the left side, and a bench on the right - the outward orientation of the bench suggests it could be a bus stop. The second floor facade is a cacophony of beige, brown, white and red. Symmetrical at the sides, the second storey boasts four windows on each side and one in the middle. The third storey is the same as the second - the left side a mirror image of the right, with another window facing the front. Like the 10211 Grand Emporium, the symmetry and grandeur make the 10182 Cafe Corner a beautiful corner building connecting other Modular Buildings - more on that in a later post!

While its external facade commands rave reviews, the same cannot be said of the interior of the 10182 Cafe Corner. There is nothing inside. Yes, you read that right - there really is nothing inside. It intrigues us that the interior of the first storey, past the front door, is empty. Logically speaking, if there are seats and umbrellas serving cafe customers, shouldn't there be some sort of kitchen or coffee machine inside? Let us move on and discuss the second and third floors, which are accessible from the flight of stairs on the right side of the building. If the building is what we think it is - a hotel, given the huge billboard hanging on the side - we should reasonably expect some beds, shouldn't we? Once again, the second and third storeys also have nothing to show for. If every cloud has a silver lining, perhaps we could turn this building into a MOC with our expression of what a cafe cum hotel should be - do stay tuned!

At Little Yellow Brick we are generous with our compliments, but also quick to offer constructive feedback on the projects we have embarked on. For the 10182 Cafe Corner, much has been said about its visual impact; we shall now focus on the practicality of the building design. It is interesting to note that this building does not have a backdoor - the only exit for hotel guests on the second and third floors (let's assume we manage to create some beds upstairs) is the narrow staircase at the front. Contrast this with the 10185 Green Grocer, which has a fire escape staircase. A design flaw - but at least Lego realized this and set things right with its subsequent Modular Buildings. Another thing which did not really make sense was that the pavement was fully tiled, leaving no room for the dustbin. Maybe it was meant to be inside the building - or maybe not, given that there is nothing else inside. Again, this error has been rectified in subsequent sets.

In terms of play experience, with 3 minifigs it is relatively challenging to play with the 10182 Cafe Corner. On the other hand, the building makes for a great display, for the reasons mentioned above. However, let us not, in the admiration for its aesthetical magnificence, forget that there was a reason for its existence and design: the 10182 Cafe Corner was meant to be a corner building, landmark linkage to other Modular Buildings to its left and right sides at right angles. If you have read our previous posts - and if you have not we do encourage you to check out the related posts at the bottom of the extended post - you will be familiar with our blogging style. Initial comments on the 10182 Cafe Corner as a part of our now complete Modular Town can be summarized into three words: we love it. Well, we have probably said too much. We will be posting another entry on our six Modular Buildings, so do stay tuned. In the meantime, we invite you to celebrate the beautiful project that is 10182 Cafe Corner by checking out the pictures in our extended post!

Related posts:
Our Growing Lego Modular Town - Seven and Counting

Friday 13 January 2012

Little Yellow Brick Investigates #2: 10224 Town Hall

Photos of the Lego Modular 10224 Town Hall box have leaked.

 (10224 Town Hall box, photo credit to Eurobricks)

Update 16/01/12
It seems that dodys from Brickset managed to get his hands on a set of the 10224 Town Hall and has completed it!

(Pictures credit to dodys, brickset forum)

Will Lego be releasing an official statement on the new modular building soon?
Stay tuned!

Little Yellow Brick Investigates #1: 10224 Town Hall

News has been swirling around about Lego's next Modular Building release - rumoured to be 10224 Town Hall. We at Little Yellow Brick were also part of the bandwagon which helped spread the word.

In our previous post, we asked some questions about the Town Hall's uncanny resemblance to the 10197 Fire Brigade and the 853340 Minifigure Wedding Favour Set. In this post, we will take it one step further and make some pictorial observations.

At the time of publication, we believe we are probably the first blog in the world to do this - please do let us know if someone else has beaten us to this. We invite you to check out our observations below. Thanks!

10224 Town Hall vs 10197 Fire Brigade


1. The shape of the Lego box. We have collected close to 15 different Lego sets, including 6 Modular Buildings and 3 Lego Winter Village sets, yet we have never seen a Lego set that is portrait-shaped.

2. The year at the top floor. Is Lego running out of ideas?

3. The bell tower on top of a clock on top of the Modular Building. Looks suspiciously like the Fire Brigade as well.


10224 Town Hall vs 853340 Minifigure Wedding Favour Set

 4. The wedding couple. They look like they escaped from 853340.

Are we thinking too much? Is Lego running out of ideas? Or is this a hoax? We leave it to readers to decide for now. After all, as the saying goes, the truth will come to light. We wait with abated breath for the next Modular Building to be officially announced (and released) by Lego!

Original 10224 Town Hall post
Little Yellow Brick News #1 - 10224 Town Hall

Updated 10224 Town Hall posts
Little Yellow Brick Investigates #2: 10224 Town Hall
Little Yellow Brick News #2 - 10224 Town Hall Official Release

Related posts:
Related posts:
Our Growing Lego Modular Town - Seven and Counting


Saturday 7 January 2012

Sunday 1 January 2012

Little Yellow Brick Wishes Readers A Blessed 2012!

With compliments from the veterans of our Imperial Flagship !

In a break from tradition, we have decided not to publish a January post of our Brick Calendar on the 1st, given that it is the New Year. We will eventually post one for this month though, so stay tuned!

Thank you for supporting Little Yellow Brick! We have gone from strength to strength with every post, and we look forward to adding more entries! We wish everyone a successful New Year, and hope you will continue to support us!

Related posts: